Edison Online

Student Survey of Instruction - Adjunct Faculty

2010-04-22T21:54:00.002-04:00

The online surveys for the spring term classes will be available to your students beginning tomorrow (4/23/2010). Students will have until 4/30/2010 to complete them. These surveys are only being distributed to classes taught by adjunct faculty, and to the Nursing classes. We are using the eSir, which is specifically designed for online courses. An email will be sent to your students (to their Edison portal email) from the survey administrators, ETS. This email will contain a link to the course survey, a user name and a password. The user name is the student’s Edison email address, and the password is generated by ETS. Students who have not completed the survey will receive a reminder email from ETS two days before the survey closes.

We had a very good response in the fall, and have a good tip to share from an online professor. An effective way to increase student participation is to put a notice in the banner of your online course, letting them know about the email coming to their portal account. Consider emailing students in CE6, asking them to complete the survey. We would like as much participation as possible. The only problem we’ve had was the fact that some students did not realize that a password was included in the email. They initially tried to use their Edison portal passwords. Once we addressed that issue, the process was very easy.

When the survey period is complete, the results will be emailed to you. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks for your help in this endeavor. We at Edison Online would like thank you for your hard work and effort this term, and wish you a wonderful summer

TCC Conference Schedule

2010-04-18T11:32:00.002-04:00

If you've registered for the TCC conference, you will have received this information. I am copying it here for your convenience.

Please note that all sessions will be archived. You will have the opportunity to watch any of the sessions you cannot attend synchronously.
Thank you & enjoy the conference!

Conference Information
ADVANCE PREPARATION
We highly recommend that you visit the "Technical Check" page using the same computer you plan to use for these events. It will help you confirm that your computer is technically ready for these sessions and that you can access the webcasts.

Visit the Technical Check page at:

http://www.tcconlineconference.org/tech-check

Click the "Technical Check" button to test your computer's ability to login to the Elluminate Live platform, and follow the on-screen instructions to check your audio settings.

Note that when you log in for the first time, you may be prompted to download Sun Microsystem's Java Web Start (or OpenJNLP for Mac). You only need to do this the first time you use the Elluminate Virtual Classroom or run the Technical Check from a specific computer.

You will need headphones or speakers to hear the session audio. The use of a microphone by participants is welcome, but not required. A microphone is required for presenters and facilitators.

TENTATIVE CONFERENCE PROGRAM
The TCC 2010 conference program is currently in preparation. You may view a tentative schedule of sessions and descriptions for all paper proceedings, general, and student sessions on the TCC 2010 Program wiki:

http://tcc2010program.wikispaces.com/

Corrected Code for TCC Conference

2010-04-05T15:53:00.002-04:00

The Correct access code is:
79gx4u (There is no D in front).

Register here:
http://www.learningtimes.net/register/products/TCC-Worldwide-Online-Conference-2010-Individual.html

2010-04-01T07:51:00.007-04:00

Conference: April 20-22, 2010

PreConference: April 7-8, 2010

Staff Development Opportunity, sponsored by Edison Online
The 15th Annual TCC Worldwide Online Conference

TCC, Technology, Colleges and Community, is a worldwide online conference designed for university and college practitioners including faculty, academic support staff, counselors, student services personnel, students, and administrators

Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow:
Communication, Collaboration, Communities,
Mobility and Best Choices

To Register:
Edison College has purchased an Institutional Registration to the 15th annual TCC Online Conference http://www.tcconlineconference.org/

All Edison College faculty and staff may now register for this completely online conference at no individual registration cost at the following link: http://www.learningtimes.net/register/products/TCC-Worldwide-Online-Conference-2010-Individual.html

To receive the 100% registration discount, please enter the following "coupon" code: D79gx4u

CORRECTION: The code is: 79gx4u (no D in front).

Quality Matters Workshop - Saturday, April 17

2010-03-31T16:37:00.002-04:00

Please click the link below for information regarding a great training opportunity. Brenda Boyd, from Quality Matters, will be on campus to present a training workshop.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/29248178

Please email Professor Rona Axelrod by April 9, (raxelrod@edison.edu), if you would like to attend.

Thank you.

Useful Website

2010-03-19T11:44:00.003-04:00

Faculty Focus is a great website for online education tips.
http://www.facultyfocus.com/free-reports/

Registration is free.

Al Williams, one of our business faculty professors, sent this tip from Faculty Focus:
11 Tips for Setting the Tone in Your Online Course

If you have a good online site to share, please send them to us at Edison Online, and we will post them for everyone.

Farewell to Erich!

2010-03-18T09:44:00.002-04:00

We would like to let everyone know that Erich Hochmeister will be leaving his full time position at Edison State College on Friday, March 19. He and his wife Amy will be moving to Tampa. Erich intends to attend graduate school full time at USF, and Amy has a wonderful new job in Tampa.

I'd like to thank Erich for the hard work, enthusiasm and heart he put into everything he did for Edison Online. His contributions are immeasurable, and he will be missed.

On a happier note, Erich will be working part time for us at a distance, so he will still be an email away! We are in the process of hiring a "new Erich".

Best wishes to both Amy and Erich!

Mary

Using Ning!

2010-01-27T16:29:00.003-05:00

Here are some useful tutorials for communicating with Ning:

Best Practices in Netiquette when using Ning - click here

Editing Personal Settings in Ning - click here

Joining a Ning Group - click here

Accessing the Edison Online Blog and Ning Blogs - click here

2010-01-22T14:01:00.002-05:00

Hello Faculty,

Many of you are aware that course access to old sections, from previous semesters, can be disabled. It is likely that many of you are turning off that access in the My Edison State Portal by turning your “Edit” button back to “Luminis” (see the following tutorial - http://training.edison.edu/webct/ce6/nextsemester/enable_portal_sections.pdf). However, it may or may not be new knowledge that this is not enough to keep students from potentially accessing old courses, or confusing them with current courses or even upcoming courses that you may not want students to see yet. This occurs because of the fact that faculty AND students have access to the “My CE6 Home” Link located in the upper right hand side of any CE6 course. See below:

Students can use the My CE6 Home link to get to a “Course List” and either access courses in which they are registered for next semester (which may or may not be ready for student access), and/or access any old classes they have taken (even though have been disabled through the My Edison State Portal). This e-mail is a reminder to use a new method to disable access to a CE6 section entirely during selected periods. Please keep and bookmark/make a favorite of this tutorial link:

http://training.edison.edu/webct/ce6/nextsemester/turning_off_student_course_access.pdf

Pay particular attention to the setting “Not available before section begins/after section ends” from the tutorial linked above. The benefits of doing so:

1. By setting CE6 student access settings, the course will automatically enable or disable depending on which setting you choose (“before section begins”, “after section ends”, or “before section begins/after section ends”). This is regardless of the Portal Edit button setting (“WebCT” or “Luminis”). The Portal edit button can then be turned to “WebCT”, but the CE6 settings govern when the students have access.

2. The course listing will not be available or even viewable at all from “My CE6 Home” course list for the access period that you have chosen (“before section begins”, “after section ends”, or “before section begins/after section ends”). Students have been desiring for these old course listings to disappear. This is one sure way to make sure they do disappear from the Student’s course list.

3. If you need to provide access for students with incompletes in your class, contact us to help you make the necessary settings.

Please call us here at Edison Online with any questions. This setting can increase the quality of the CE6 overall experience for you and your students!

Spring A and Full Term Student Orientations

2009-12-08T08:40:00.003-05:00

Happy Holidays Online Instructors! Student Online Orientations are now available for Spring A and Spring Full term students! Orientations will run once a day from January 4th through January 12th (There will be a Saturday session on January 9th). There is a link within your online course for many of you. However, some of you may need the link to pass along to your students:

http://online.edison.edu/orientation/EOL_orientation.htm

Also, an announcement has been sent out to all students through their myEdison Portal account (it was sent to their Edison e-mail as well!)

Have a great Holiday!

Errors when accessing CE6 Links

2009-12-03T13:41:00.004-05:00

Good day and Season's Greetings,

Several instructors and students who are using CE6 links to software such as StudyMate Class Server, Wimba Classroom and Voice, or MyMathLab have encountered this error when accessing those links:

"HTTP 404 - Not Found Server Not Available"

We have been working to solve the issues, however, it is a randomly occurring issue that will not affect everyone at once, and does not appear to have a pattern that we at Edison Online, IT support, or Blackboard support can recognize.

Most times, by going back and clicking the link a second or third time, the issue will correct itself, and your or your students will obtain access. At other times, additional steps may be necessary. Please attach the following document to your course and/or distribute this guide to your students as needed. It details steps to take when encountering this issue.

Document: http://www.edison.edu/docnew/action.php?kt_path_info=ktcore.actions.document.view&fDocumentId=10721

This is a good time to discuss best practices in online course activities. Please consider that if you are trying a new activity for the first time: Implement a practice session or assignment to acclimate your students before attempting an activity for a significant grade.

Thanks for your patience. We will continue to look for a permanent solution.

Spring Start Up!

2009-11-24T16:16:00.003-05:00

Hello Online Faculty!

I am sure many of you are thinking forward to Spring 2010 as we head into Thanksgiving and the last portion of Fall Semester 2009. The staff of Edison Online have been busy putting together a document that will help you to get prepared and organized for the beginning of a new semester. Please click the link below to review this comprehensive document:

http://www.edison.edu/docnew/action.php?kt_path_info=ktcore.actions.document.view&fDocumentId=10688

Enjoy the holiday! If you have any questions, please e-mail us at online@edison.edu

CE6 Chat Tool is Temporarily Down, Consider Using Wimba

2009-10-29T15:17:00.008-04:00

Update! - The restart of the CE6 server will happen at 3:00am Saturday, October 31st.

Hello Instructors,

We apologize for the inconvenience, but the CE6 Chat Tool (along with Who's Online), is currently not working. I am aware that many of you use the Chat Tool for Office Hours, Group Work, and some class meetings.

We are attempting to do a system restart for activation of Wimba Pronto (Wimba's instant messaging collaboration tool). This restart will be scheduled for an early morning, as to avoid class problems. The restart will only last for about 10 minutes maximum. It should correct the problems with CE6 Chat and Who's Online as well. Please check the portal for exact times (we are aiming for 3:00am Saturday morning, but that is yet to be confirmed).

In the meantime, this would be a good time to become more familiar with Wimba Classroom! Please view the materials below to begin using Wimba Classroom as a Chat Room:

http://www.wimba.com/services/instructor/classroom/ - Use this guide to create a Wimba Classroom in your CE6 Class.
http://www.edison.edu/docnew/action.php?kt_path_info=ktcore.actions.document.view&fDocumentId=10403 - Here is a guide on how to use the Wimba Text Chat as an instructor!

For the students in your class:

http://www.edison.edu/docnew/action.php?kt_path_info=ktcore.actions.document.view&fDocumentId=10404 - Pass this documents to your students to help them use Wimba Text Chat!

This is just the beginning of Wimba Classroom's capabilities. Contact coursedesign@edison.edu for more information and training possibilities.

Banner Update: Passwords Reset

2009-10-12T09:15:00.002-04:00

Good morning everyone,

Due to the banner upgrade this weekend, those of you who use backdoor passwords at http://edison.blackboard.com to login to CE6, may have found that those passwords no longer work.

Secret Question Set up?

During our last password reset, many of you have established a secret question that will allow you to reset your password from the http://edison.blackboard.com login page. If you believe you have done so or are not sure, please use this tutorial to retrieve your password:

http://www.edison.edu/docnew/action.php?kt_path_info=ktcore.actions.document.view&fDocumentId=9035

If you have not established a secret question (or it does not work when attempting to use it), you will need to do so by following the directions below:

To help solve this issue in a timely, orderly manner, and to give you the ability to reset should a future issue occur, we are taking the following steps:

If you cannot login to CE6 via backdoor access, please reply to this e-mail stating that your CE6 Password is not working. You can and will continue to be able to access CE6 via the myEdison Portal > Faculty Academics Tab. Keep in mind, if you are working on a development shell, you can access it from the Portal: After going to your course, click “My CE6 Home” from the upper right side of the blue banner to return to your course list.

I will reset the passwords upon your notification and e-mail you with a temporary password.
After you have the temporary password from me, please change your password using the tutorial linked below. Follow all steps, including setting your secret question. A secret question is a question that you will be asked, should you ever need to reset your password using the automatic system password reset. Obviously, the question should be something that only you can answer. Do not forget to enter the answer and keep if for future reference! Here is the tutorial:

http://training.edison.edu/webct/ce6/ce6_access_getstarted/change_password_handout.htm
Follow these directions to reset the password yourself from http://edison.blackboard.com:

http://www.edison.edu/docnew/action.php?kt_path_info=ktcore.actions.document.view&fDocumentId=9035

We appreciate your patience with this issue!

Uninstalling IE8 - For You and Your students

2009-09-25T09:11:00.003-04:00

Hello Online Faculty,

It has recently been documented both by Edison Online and the Student Technology Center on the Lee Campus that simply using IE8 Compatibility View is not solving all problems when students are accessing CE6 activities and assessments through Internet Explorer 8.

IT and the Student Tech Center have recommended that we distribute instructions for uninstalling IE8 and re-installing Mozilla Firefox 3.5 and Internet Explorer 7. Those of you who have noted problems with content and test banks that do not view correctly in Mozilla Firefox 3.5 - please have yourself and your students re-install IE7.

Below is a link to the instructions. All instructors can either download the document (it is PDF) and place it in your course, or copy the link and make a CE6 Web Link in your course.

http://www.edison.edu/docnew/action.php?kt_path_info=ktcore.actions.document.view&fDocumentId=10178

Thanks for your patience. If you have any issues or questions, please contact me at ehochmeister@edison.edu

Respondus and Study Mate - Updated Licensing Fall 2009

2009-08-11T17:02:00.005-04:00

Hello all, Our licensing for the Respondus and StudyMate software (2 separate software programs), renews each August. The new licensing information is now available via one of the two following sources below the picture:

Easiest:

Access your CE6 Account
If you are not already looking at “My CE6 Home”, then you should click “My CE6 Home from the upper right hand side (on the blue banner)
Click “CE6 Faculty Forum” from your course list
Click the Home Page link for “Software Downloads”
From the next page, click the “Respondus and StudyMate Download Site”
IMPORTANT NOTE: This renewal period, we are now “Edison State College” You need to update Respondus and StudyMate with all the information from Step 2 of the Respondus and StudyMate Download Site for each software piece.

Alternate:

Navigate to http://edison.blackboard.com
Login in as: Username: faculty , Password: faculty
Click the “Respondus and StudyMate Download Site” from the Course List
IMPORTANT NOTE: This renewal period, we are now “Edison State College” You need to update Respondus and StudyMate with all the information from Step 2 of the Respondus and StudyMate Download Site for each software piece.

CE6 System Maintenance, Saturday, August 1st 2009

2009-07-31T21:13:00.001-04:00

The Edison State College CE6 system may experience intermittent outages between 8:00 am and 10:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time on Saturday, August 1st. System Administrators will be correcting an issue that has caused recent CE6 downtime. Technicians will make every effort to avoid any interruptions in service. We apologize for the short notice and potential of disruption to courses.

CE6 - http://edison.blackboard.com - password resets

2009-06-12T14:32:00.001-04:00

Good Friday afternoon Professors,

Due to a system issue, those of you who use backdoor passwords at http://edison.blackboard.com to login to CE6, may have found that those passwords no longer work.

To help solve this issue in a timely, orderly manner, and to give you the ability to reset should a future issue occur, we are taking the following steps:

If you cannot login to CE6 via backdoor access, please reply to this e-mail stating that your CE6 Password is not working. You can and will continue to be able to access CE6 via the myEdison Portal > Faculty Academics Tab. Keep in mind, if you are working on a development shell, you can access it from the Portal: After going to your course, click "My CE6 Home" from the upper right side of the blue banner to return to your course list.

I will reset the passwords on Monday and e-mail you with a temporary password. (Those of you who have had your passwords reset Friday, you will not need to do this step)
After you have the temporary password from me, please change your password using the tutorial linked below. Follow all steps, including setting your secret question. A secret question is a question that you will be asked, should you ever need to reset your password using the automatic system password reset. Obviously, the question should be something that only you can answer. Do not forget to enter the answer and keep if for future reference! Here is the tutorial:

http://training.edison.edu/webct/ce6/ce6_access_getstarted/change_password_handout.htm
Should you need to have your password reset or resent to you, follow these directions to reset the password yourself:

http://www.edison.edu/docnew/action.php?kt_path_info=ktcore.actions.document.view&fDocumentId=9035

We appreciate your patience with this issue. Have a good weekend.

Internet Explorer 8 and CE6

2009-06-11T15:01:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone,

There have been a few people asking about Internet Explorer 8 (IE8). Most have stated that they are not sure if CE6 works with IE8. The answer is that it does not, unless you turn on the Compatibility View in IE8. This compatibility view allows users to view web page URLs as they would appear in Internet Explorer 7 (IE7).

Please see the following tutorial on how to enable the compatibility view for CE6 (click here)

Good luck and as always, call or write with any questions.

Soft Chalk Lesson Builder 5 New Features

2009-06-08T16:40:00.006-04:00

Hi all,

When V5 was first being introduced, I took this course to see a little about the new features. There are several offered times for you to get a peek at the features. Here is the information:

Version 5 New Features

Version 5 brings you the power of a desktop application and the resources of the Web. The new features include tools: to Search Digital Repositories and easily integrate that media into your lesson; to Add widgets (polls, surveys, blogs, wikis, etc.); to Combine multiple lessons into larger eCourse modules; to create groups of quiz questions; to Publish a lesson directly into a Blackboard course. There are also enhancements to many of our current features. Just released, this new version will once again show why SoftChalk is the educator's only choice for easy content creation.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009 1pm PT \| 2pm MT \| 3pm CT \| 4pm ET	REGISTER NOW
Friday, June 12, 2009 10am PT \| 11am MT \| 12pm CT \| 1pm ET	REGISTER NOW
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 11am PT \| 12pm MT \| 1pm CT \| 2pm ET	REGISTER NOW
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 4pm PT \| 5pm MT \| 6pm CT \| 7pm ET	REGISTER NOW

Keep in mind that several short courses are offered on how to use Lesson Builder, for free!

Here is how to register for Short Courses as a Gold Level Member Institution:

You MUST be online
Open your SoftChalk software
Select Help/Help Topics from the SoftChalk menu.
Select Training Registration(online) from the Help Topics menu.

Thanks and enjoy!

Soft Chalk Lesson Builder 5 Available

2009-06-01T16:03:00.003-04:00

Soft Chalk Lesson Builder 5 is here and is available for download. It is the same Lesson Builder you have been using, plus a few new options, including:

Easier Media Searching/Insertion into lessons
Ability to Link multiple Lesson Builder Projects into one large Unit
Question Grouping and Randomization!
Ability to link Blogs, Wikis, and RSS feeds easily
and coming soon......the ability to edit lessons that are already inserted in CE6!

Please read the documentation on the download site for more details. You can find the download site in two places:

1. When logged into CE6 through the Portal, or by http://edison.blackboard.com; you can go to "My CE6 Home" and click the CE6 Faculty Forum. Software Downloads is one of the icons on the homepage!

2. Navigate to http://edison.blackbaord.com. Login as username: faculty, password: faculty. Click the "Lesson Builder Download Site" to begin.

Remember, you can open and modify Lesson Builder 4 materials in Lesson Builder 5!

Enjoy and contact us here at Edison Online if you have any questions!

May Institute Discussion Posting

2009-05-11T23:30:00.004-04:00

Your "assignment" is ready, May Institute participants! Please go to the CE6 Faculty Forum, located in your "My CE6 Home" Course List. On the Home Page, the last link is for you! In the true spirit of a learning community, take the time to check out or reply to another participant's post! (No worries, instructors, there won't be any discussion Rubrics this time!)

Course Design Guide and Semester Start Checklist

2009-04-23T14:37:00.002-04:00

Hello Instructors!

One of our goals this semester has been to create a better guide for how to design and ready your online course. The first edition of this guide has now been posted to http://training.edison.edu/webct/ce6training.php

The "Design and Edison Online Course Guide" is located at the very top of the page. Here is a direct link if you'd like: http://training.edison.edu/webct/ce6/designguide/index.html

The Design Guide contains chronological step-by-step processes for building your course, ending in a "Semester Start Checklist" to verify that you have included all required aspects before beginning the semester. If you are finishing development of a course and would like a direct link to the Semester Start Checklist, click here: http://training.edison.edu/webct/ce6/designguide/Faculty%20Semester%20Start%20Checklist.pdf

Over time, this guide will most likely evolve to meet your needs better. Please do not hesitate to provide us with your feedback about the guide: e-mail coursedesign@edison.edu

Thanks and enjoy!

Summer A and Full Term Edison Online Student Orientations

2009-04-20T13:55:00.002-04:00

This message is just to let all Online Instructors know that Student Online Orientations are now available for Summer A and Summer Full term students! Orientations will run once a day from May 4th through May 12th (sorry, no weekend times available this time around). Please review the information below and know that the announcement has been sent out to all students!

The below was from earlier in the semester:

Hello Spring instructors!

As some of you may or may not know, Edison Online is going to be trying a new way of reaching out to the student online population: with a short Online Orientation. The orientation will be designed to inform students about the important elements of their CE6 course and helpful links at online.edison.edu. Students will be shown how to access the CE6 orientation (self guided at http://online.edison.edu/orientation), where to go to update their computer with the system requirements necessary to take an online class, and the location of critical items in their course itself including how to access it via the portal, where the communication tools are, printing their syllabi and assignment details, where to find the testing center schedule, and much more.

We are currently posting an announcement via the myEdison Portal that reads:

From: Associate Dean Mary Myers at Edison Online

Students who are taking an online course next semester can now sign up for a completely online student orientation. Length is 30 minutes. Participants will learn how to navigate an online class, and how to ensure your computer has the necessary software! A variety of dates and times will be available. Please click the following link for more details and sign up information:

http://online.edison.edu/orientation/EOL_orientation.htm

Please, feel free to copy and paste this to an e-mail and share it with your students. The more publicity the announcement gets, the better the attendance. Click the link above to see the information and sign-up times for yourself!

BLENDED COURSE INSTRUCTORS: NOTE: This orientation is tailored to the Online Student, some elements of the orientation apply to your students, a good number may not; thus leading to confusion! Remember, you have the opportunity to meet with your students to provide information about your course. Online courses do not. Proceed with caution when advertising this to your blended course students.

Thanks for all you do!

Registration Information for TCC

2009-03-30T20:39:00.001-04:00

Here is the registration information for the online TCC Conference.
You are invited to register for the 14th Annual
TCC Worldwide Online Conference

The New Internet:
Collaborative Learning, Social Networking,
Technology Tools, and Best Practices

http://tcc.kcc.hawaii.edu/2009/tcc/welcome.html
April 14-16, 2009
Pre-conference Dates: April 1-2, 2009

REGISTER ONLINE
https://skellig.kcc.hawaii.edu/tccreg/guest.php
Edison College has purchased an institutional registration which will enable all Edison College faculty, staff and administrators to register at no
individual registration fee. At the registration page above, please select as your registration type:
GUEST - INSTITUTIONAL ($0 USD)

TCC, Technology, Colleges and Community, is a worldwide online conference designed for university and college practitioners including faculty, academic support staff, counselors, student service personnel, students, and administrators.

Join the annual TCC Worldwide Online Conference to share your expertise, experiences, and knowledge relevant to the use of information technology in learning, teaching and academic services. This event is also helpful for novices and those interested in Internet resources for teaching and learning.

For questions concerning registration, contact Sharon Fowler .

Edison Online Faculty Institute - May 8 and 9

2009-03-27T14:27:00.002-04:00

Please mark your calendars for Edison Online’s first Faculty Conference. It will be held Friday afternoon, May 8, and Saturday, May 9, on the Lee Campus. Our keynote speakers on Saturday will be Drs. Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt, from the Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California. Their most recent book, Building Online Learning Communities explores the development of virtual classroom environments. They will focus on techniques that foster a sense of community and empower students to take charge of their learning to successfully achieve learning outcomes.

Friday afternoon’s workshop will highlight our new assessment tool, Waypoint Outcomes. A Friday afternoon social hour will follow.

Saturday, Drs. Palloff and Pratt will present a morning workshop, followed by a luncheon for all attendees. There will be several breakout sessions and workshops on Saturday afternoon. Topics will include: software tools available; what works and what doesn’t; managing the difficult student; assuring robust courses using Quality Matters.

This is a unique opportunity for the online faculty to meet and discuss our first year of Edison Online, and to plan for the growth and enhancement of our online classes. It has been an exciting year, and it is time to reflect upon our success and to plan for the future.

Registration is available for all three events. Please take the time to register, so that we have an accurate count of who will be attending. We look forward to seeing you May 8 and 9!

http://www.edison.edu/techtraining/stafftrainingeventsall.php#

If you know of a colleague who is not currently teaching online, but would like to attend, please forward this information to them.
Please contact Bobbie Buczyna at 489-3995, if you have any questions.

Online Distance Learning Conference

2009-03-12T12:28:00.003-04:00

Aloha!
Last year, many of you attended the online Distance Learning Conference, sponsored by TCC (Technology, Colleges and Community). It is held virtually, from The University of Hawaii. This year, the conference is being held from April 14- April 16, with pre-conference dates of April 1 and 2.

There are real-time online conferences every day, with many interesting topics that relate to teaching online.

We have purchased a college-wide registration, which will allow all faculty to participate. I will send the login information out when I receive it. Session details will be available online around April 1.

Please mark your calendars and take advantage of this wonderful "virtual" trip to Hawaii!

The web address is http://tcc.kcc.hawaii.edu/2009/tcc/welcome.html

Respondus LockDown Browser Information Session

2009-02-12T09:06:00.002-05:00

Hello Everyone. Below is another Product Webinar that will interest those of you giving Exams through CE6!:

Did you know that the top reasons cited by instructors for not using online testing are that they fear students will Google for answers, email the assessment to a friend, or open other applications during the test? Even when giving tests in a proctored setting, instructors recognize that it’s easy for students to cheat.

Over 250 institutions have turned to Respondus LockDown Browser to address this problem. Respondus LockDown Browser is a custom browser that locks down the testing environment within Blackboard, Desire2Learn or WebCT. During a test, students are unable to print, copy, go to another URL, or access other applications. They are locked into the assessment until it’s submitted for grading.

Join a Webinar to Learn More
Learn more about Respondus LockDown Browser in a free, live demonstration. Register at http://www.respondus.com/products/ldb-webinar.php. Dates/times are listed below.

Webinar: Introduction to Respondus LockDown Browser (45 minutes)

For Institutions Using Blackboard/WebCT

Tuesday, February 17th at 1 pm PT (4 pm ET) - Register

Thursday, February 19th at 11 am PT (2 pm ET) - Register

Spring B Edison Online Student Orientations

2009-02-11T14:11:00.002-05:00

This message is just to let all Online Instructors know that Student Online Orientations are now available for Spring B, beginning March 9th! Please review the information below and know that the announcement has been sent out to all students!

The below was from earlier in the semester:

Hello Spring instructors!

As some of you may or may not know, Edison Online is going to be trying a new way of reaching out to the student online population: with a short Online Orientation. The orientation will be designed to inform students about the important elements of their CE6 course and helpful links at online.edison.edu. Students will be shown how to access the CE6 orientation (self guided at http://online.edison.edu/orientation), where to go to update their computer with the system requirements necessary to take an online class, and the location of critical items in their course itself including how to access it via the portal, where the communication tools are, printing their syllabi and assignment details, where to find the testing center schedule, and much more.

We are currently posting an announcement via the myEdison Portal that reads:

From: Associate Dean Mary Myers at Edison Online

Students who are taking an online course next semester can now sign up for a completely online student orientation. Length is 30 minutes. Participants will learn how to navigate an online class, and how to ensure your computer has the necessary software! A variety of dates and times will be available. Please click the following link for more details and sign up information:

http://online.edison.edu/orientation/EOL_orientation.htm

Please, feel free to copy and paste this to an e-mail and share it with your students. The more publicity the announcement gets, the better the attendance. Click the link above to see the information and sign-up times for yourself!

BLENDED COURSE INSTRUCTORS: NOTE: This orientation is tailored to the Online Student, some elements of the orientation apply to your students, a good number may not; thus leading to confusion! Remember, you have the opportunity to meet with your students to provide information about your course. Online courses do not. Proceed with caution when advertising this to your blended course students.

Thanks for all you do!

SMARTHINKING Overview

2009-02-09T14:25:00.005-05:00

Smarthinking is an online tutoring service that your school is making available to its students. Smarthinking provides tutoring in mathematics (basic math, through Calculus including Bilingual Math), Biology, Intro Human A & P, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Economics, Accounting, Intro to Finance, Statistics, Spanish, and Writing. Please join this session to learn more about this service and the ways in which it can help your students succeed.

Register for a session now by clicking a date below:

Tue, Feb 24th, 2009 2:00PM - 3:00PM EST
(1:00PM CST, Noon MST, 11:00AM PST)

Tue, Feb 24, 2009 4:00PM - 5:00PM EST
(3:00PM CST, 2:00PM MST, 1:00PM PST)

Tue, Feb 24, 2009 7:00PM - 8:00PM EST
(6:00PM CST, 5:00PM MST, 4:00 PST)

Tue, Feb 24, 2009 9:00PM - 10:00PM EST
(8:00PM CST, 7:00PM MST, 6:00 PST)

Once registered you wil receive an email confirming your registration with information you need to join the Webinar.

System Requirements

PC-based attendees
Required: Windows 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh-based attendees
Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) or newer

READI Enhancements Training

2009-02-09T14:13:00.005-05:00

Hello Instructors! The following is from eLearning Toolbox, the creators of the READI (Readiness for Education at a Distance Indicator) Tool. ( http://online.edison.edu/future/orientation ):

We are excited about the level of interest in the enhancements to Version 6.0 of READI. The new version was launched two days ago and as expected, even after extensive testing, some users are reporting issues. We appreciate your feedback on these items and thank you for your patience as these matters are resolved. Version 6.0 involved a total re-write of the back end code for READI. So this new version is much more than just the addition of a few new features.

To foster dialogue in the training sessions, we are capping each section at 25 participants. The first two sessions are full as indicated in the table below. We have identified two additional training sessions. If you would like to participate in one of these two, free, live training sessions, please send an email to support@readi.info We will record one of the two first training sessions and provide the link to this archived session within the administrative interface of READI. You will be emailed when that link is available.

Additional Training Sessions:

Session Three: Tuesday, February 17, 2009, 1:30 PM CENTRAL hosted by Julie Owen
Session Four time and date, Wednesday, February 18^th, 10:00 AM CENTRAL hosted by Cristy Frazier

Edison Online February Workshop Schedule

2009-01-29T09:42:00.003-05:00

Hello Faculty!

Our new Training Lab will be completed by mid-February, thus I am proud to announce a workshop schedule! This schedule covers the two weeks before Spring Break. An additional schedule for March-April will be posted to this Blog by late February. Please click the following link to accessing the listing of available workhshops:

February Workshop Schedule - Only those that begin with Edison Online: are our workshops!

Open Scheduling times and new offerings are available. Please read the following document to learn more about the full range of Workshops available via Edison Online:

Workshop Descriptions

If you cannot make it to the Lee Campus for workshops, please contact ehochmeister@edison.edu to explore the possibility of an online workshop via GoToMeeting.

Two highlights of this schedule:

Study Mate Class Server: StudyMate Class Server allows teachers and students create study materials in a collaborative, web-based environment, all Integrated within CE6 - NO MORE PUBLISHING!

Students learn at each step of the process: creating, editing and reviewing items (no more blind memorization of course materials)
Instructors can select student-generated questions for use on tests, resulting in "fresh" questions each term
"Social learning" fosters peer accountability and makes the course more engaging
Student participation can easily be tracked and graded, providing an additional way to assess student knowledge

Edison Online: Open CE6/Training Schedule - by Appointment Only: Open Faculty Training Time. Individual consultations can be scheduled during the allotted hours for CE6 or any other eLearning software. Participants must pre-register online. Registered faculty will receive an e-mail with possible times, topics, and meeting locations.

FAQs from the Edison Online Student Orientation Sessions

2009-01-15T16:58:00.002-05:00

Online instructors: The Edison Online Student Orientations were successful and feedback has been positive! We have collected questions asked during the online student orientations given early this semester. A document has been created and posted to the Internet that contains:

A link to the printable and viewable PowerPoint of the Orientation
A link to a recorded version of the Orientation
The frequently asked questions and their answers

Click here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/10495252/Online-Orientation-FAQ

Please feel free to post a link to this document in your course so that students who did not attend an orientation may take a look!

Resend: Number of Items on any CE6 Page!

2009-01-06T16:46:00.002-05:00

To re-highlight this issue: If you are looking to set the number of items per CE6 Page to "All", such that you do not have to use the "Page" drop down menu, or "Next Page" arrow located at the bottom right hand side of the page, please review the blog entry linked below!

http://edisononlineblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/number-of-items-on-ce6-page.html

Online Workshop Offering

2008-12-18T13:38:00.003-05:00

A new completely online workshop is available for registration on January 9th:

Edison Online: Writing Intensive Course Tools

Have a writing intensive course? This workshop presents some eLearning tools that can help both you and your student accomplish their goals.

-Learn to use Safe Assign to check for writing integrity.
-Learn to use Smart Thinking to create an online tutoring area for students.

Take this online workshop from anywhere!

Sign up via the "CE6 Faculty Forum", under "Registering for Edison Online Workshops", page 4.
or click this link:
Workshop Schedule/Registration

Edison Online Student Orientation

2008-12-12T13:53:00.001-05:00

Hello Spring instructors!

As some of you may or may not know, Edison Online is going to be trying a new way of reaching out to the student online population: with a short Online Orientation. The orientation will be designed to inform students about the important elements of their CE6 course and helpful links at online.edison.edu. Students will be shown how to access the CE6 orientation (self guided at http://online.edison.edu/orientation), where to go to update their computer with the system requirements necessary to take an online class, and the location of critical items in their course itself including how to access it via the portal, where the communication tools are, printing their syllabi and assignment details, where to find the testing center schedule, and much more.

We are currently posting an announcement via the myEdison Portal that reads:

From: Associate Dean Mary Myers at Edison Online

Students who are taking an online course next semester can now sign up for a completely online student orientation. Length is 30 minutes. Participants will learn how to navigate an online class, and how to ensure your computer has the necessary software! A variety of dates and times will be available. Please click the following link for more details and sign up information:

http://online.edison.edu/orientation/EOL_orientation.htm

Please, feel free to copy and paste this to an e-mail and share it with your students. The more publicity the announcement gets, the better the attendance. Click the link above to see the information and sign-up times for yourself!

BLENDED COURSE INSTRUCTORS: NOTE: This orientation is tailored to the Online Student, some elements of the orientation apply to your students, a good number may not; thus leading to confusion! Remember, you have the opportunity to meet with your students to provide information about your course. Online courses do not. Proceed with caution when advertising this to your blended course students.

Thanks for all you do!

Snag It Update

2008-12-09T20:06:00.002-05:00

If you are using Snag It to capture screen images, a new version is available.
Here is the link to the download:

How to UpgradeThanks for your Snagit multi-user purchase! Since you are already using Snagit 9, this is a FREE upgrade.
Download and install the latest version.
If prompted, enter your new key:WLMNB-XZAWZ-S64ZL-FZ2VS-DCCMB

CE6 Gradebook Help

2008-11-20T09:52:00.002-05:00

Good Day! Many of you have been wanting a little more help with certain aspects of the Grade Book in CE6. I have posted recent blog Q and As to the Blog about the Grade Book, but here are yet more answers!

I have posted each of these documents to http://training.edison.edu/webct/ce6training.php as well under the heading Gradebook Tool. Please remember to check the training materials page!

Preparing CE6 for Next Semester

2008-11-13T09:38:00.003-05:00

We have created some helpful guides to preparing your courses for the next semester. Please save and or print these for future reference. You can also find these guides on the CE6 Training Materials page at: http://training.edison.edu/webct/ce6training.php

Please contact ehochmeister@edison.edu, or mmyers@edison.edu with any questions about this process!

Respondus LockDown Browser

2008-11-12T11:46:00.002-05:00

Respondus LockDown Browser is now available for Faculty/Student use. Respondus LockDown Browser is a custom browser that locks down the testing environment within CE6. Students are locked into the assessment and are unable to print, copy, go to another URL, or access other applications. It is a nice alternative to the No Print Script (click for details on the No Print Script).

Respondus LockDown Browser is a client application that is installed to a local computer. It provides a custom interface for the Internet Explorer (Windows) or Safari (Macintosh) software that is already installed on the computer.

To make the process of using LockDown browser as painless as possbile, please contact and work with us here in Edison Online before implementing this solution in your class.

More information - is this application for you?

Find information on the browser, how to use it in CE6, and where to download the LockDown Browser - view the Training Page for Respondus LockDown Browser:

http://training.edison.edu/respondus/lockdownbrowser/index.php

Students will get information about the LockDown Browser via the Edison Online CE6 Orientation. Use the following link to view the Orientation Materials:

http://online.edison.edu/orientation/CE6studentorientation12.html#responduslockdownbrowser

Faculty Forum Discussion Answers

2008-11-12T10:24:00.003-05:00

Hello Faculty! We have been monitoring the discussion board in the CE6 Faculty Forum. Many of you are asking some wonderful questions. Thank you to those of you who are helping to answer these questions for your peers.
As for Edison Online replies, rather than just posting a reply to the discussion board, we decided to create a Blog entry with a document for download. Whenever we get some good questions, we will continue to answer in this format and place the answers in the Faculty Forum as well!

Click here to view and download the latest answers

Many thanks to Jackie Smith (Edison Online assistant) as well. She was instrumental in helping to answer these questions!

Number of Items on a CE6 Page

2008-11-11T11:07:00.004-05:00

Many of you have asked if there is a way to set the number of items per Page to "All", such that you do not have to use the "Page" drop down menu, or "Next Page" arrow located at the bottom right hand side of the page.

I have some good and some bad news -
Good News: There is a way to do so permanently, no matter what computer or web browser you are using.

Bad News: 1. Each different tool (assignments page, learning modules, assessments, etc.) has its own separate setting; it is not global. 2. Each student will need to set their own settings for their own account.

Below is a picture tutorial of how to do this (for you and your students). Click the image to download a larger image file that you can use in your class.

We are constantly looking for little tips and tricks like this. Stay tuned and good luck!

Safe Assign Available

2008-11-10T22:31:00.004-05:00

Safe Assign is now available for all writing assignments. It is very similar to Turn It In. To add it to your class, simply do the following:

On the Build Tab:
Navigate to the Content Module in which the assignment should appear.
Select Add Content Link
Select Safe Assign
Select Create SafeAssign

When the New Window Appears, Type in a Title
Click Configure!

Now.....
Move to the Teach Tab
Click on the link you just created
Click on Create Safe Assignment
Name the Assignment and select the options that match your needs.
Click Save.

You can add as many assignments as you need.
Select Add Selected

Grade Book: Column Maximum Value

2008-11-03T11:19:00.003-05:00

Hello all. From doing a little research, I have found that the "Maximum Value" feature of CE6 allows students to see how much the value counts toward their grade only.

Myself and others thought that setting a "Maximum Value" on a calculated column might actually limit the grade from going over 100 or the maximum points possible for that grade, even if you are adding something to your calculation (like bonus points) that would take the grade over the maximum points mathematically (see below)

In the past, WebCT 4.0 calculated columns would say "out of" whatever the maximum value of a calculated grade formula would be. An instructor could not state that the "out of" was only 100 if the calculation produced a maximum of, for example, 103 points with extra credit, drop grades, etc.

The illustration example above shows a Grade Column with a Maximum value of 100, where bonus points were added to all students grade in the column formula. This student had a high enough grade value that upon receiving the points, the student now has a value of 103. However, unlike WebCT 4.0, the Maximum value shows that the calculation is only "out of 100" (in red outline above).

This leaves an instructor with two options:

1. From the Grade Book, click the value in the column in question (in other words, click the number listed for a particular student). Select "Revert to Original" and then make a comment to the student in the provided text box about why their grade will only be reflected as "*maximum grade*" (or whatever you wish to say, that is just one example).

2. Click the value in the column in question. Then Select "Change to:" and enter the value you wish the student to see in the corresponding text box. You can then make an additional comment below if you desire.

I know that specialized setups such as Maximum Value can be confusing. Please call or e-mail ehochmeister@edison.edu with any questions!

New Respondus Features!

2008-10-30T15:35:00.003-04:00

For all those who use Respondus to create and import their exams and quizzes, I have some great news and updates!

1. Respondus will now work seamlessly with Microsoft Office 2003 AND 2007 (.doc and .docx) files. This means you can format a test in 2003 or 2007, and simply import that file directly to Respondus without saving the test as a .rtf (rich text) or .txt (plain text) file! This should make using Respondus a touch easier! Use these tutorials:

Revised Guide to Formatting documents for Respondus Import (click here)

Importing a formatted test/quiz document to Respondus (click here)

2. From the Revised Guide to formatting above, you will notice that images can now be easily formatted into questions. Before, you needed to do additional formatting to incorporate pictures, graphs, tables, or other drawings. Let Respondus do the work for you!

3. Respondus now also allows for us to use pre-configured settings to publish to CE6. In the past, you had to manually input server settings to transfer your Respondus tests to CE6. Please review the new tutorials on setting up Respondus to publish, and completing the publish to your CE6 course:

Setting Respondus to CE6 Server Settings (click here)

Publishing to a CE6 Section from Respondus (click here)

All Respondus Tutorials and helpful information, including those above are located on the page:
http://training.edison.edu/respondus - bookmark this page for future use!

E-mail me with any questions. I enjoy reading your feedback! One request from me however, please e-mail me at ehochmeister@edison.edu - The mail link listed below this blog entry goes to our personal gmail accounts (this is a google service). I would hate to miss anything important from you! Thanks!

Designing in CE6

2008-10-29T14:50:00.002-04:00

Hello again everyone. Those of you wishing to learn more about how to "build" a course in CE6: I have revised online class 3. All instructors can enroll. I now call the class "CE6 Designing Your Course". Please e-mail me if you are interested in enrolling in the class. It does not have to be completed for CE6 Certification, in fact, it does not even have to be completed. If you desire, you can simply use it as a reference when you are preparing your course for the next semester or building an entirely new course.

If you do complete the class, however, you can receive an Edison Online professional development memo for your portfolios, exactly as I have done for CE6 Certification Classes 1 and 2. No worries, if you completed the old version of Online Class 3, I know who you are! You will also receive a professional development memo from Edison Online. Please give me a little time to get those out to you, but they are coming! Thanks for all you do as instructors at Edison State College.

Course Design Suggestions

2008-10-27T11:56:00.003-04:00

Hello all. Last week I attended the League for Innovation Conference on Information Technology in Salt Lake City Utah. While there, I participated in the Online Teaching and Learning Track of sessions. A couple of great ideas that I would like to share with you:

1) Two presenters made mention of doing "trials" during the first week of class. What they mean by this is to give your students

a short test and assignment sample so that they can get use to the interface with CE6.
an introduction or other short ice breaker during the first week to get them acclimated to reading and responding to the discussion board.
Any other "test runs" of technology that may be used during the duration of the course.

The benefits of which are to lessen the frustration for students trying to understand the technology, answer questions before grade anxiety plays a part, and to identify technical obstacles. This may take time at first, but could save the instructor and students valuable time and headaches later.

2) Extensively try out new tools and technology within your course in a testing environment before trying to execute it within your course. Even if you cannot fully try out the idea, you will gain exposure and credible experience.

One study at the conference found that nearly 65 percent of interviewed students felt more comfortable in online courses where instructors could convey prior experience (whether success or failures) about preparing to implement technology in their online course.

Hope you find this useful!

Photo Option in the Roster

2008-10-09T19:06:00.002-04:00

The Photo Option in the Roster can now be used. Students can upload photos of themselves to the roster. (You can, too!)

Revised CE6 Certification Available

2008-10-09T14:53:00.003-04:00

Good Day all! We have worked to create revised and redesigned courses for CE6 Certification. Our goal was to make them more informational, easier to use and follow, and to be more customized to Edison State College/Edison Online. The Courses - CE6 Certification Class 1, and CE6 Certification Class 2 replace Online Classes 1 and 2 from spring and summer. All current faculty trainees for Spring are enrolled in these new classes. Where you do not need to retake the courses, some faculty have expressed the desire to be enrolled in the revised classes for reference and review. If you are one of those, please e-mail me at ehochmeister@edison.edu to request that your CE6 account be added to the roster!

In addition, I will be announcing a revision of former Online Class 3 in the coming weeks. This class is an exceptional guide to building and designing a course using CE6. Stay tuned!

Workshop Schedule has been posted!

2008-09-24T16:27:00.002-04:00

The Face-to-Face Workshop schedule for Edison Online has been posted!

1. From any CE6 Course, click My CE6 Home
2. From your Course List, select the CE6 Faculty Forum
3. On the Homepage of the CE6 Faculty Forum is a new icon and link: Registering for Face-to-Face Workshops. Click it to begin reviewing what is available!

See you there!

WebCT vs. CE6

2008-09-02T11:57:00.003-04:00

Hope everyone's semester is going well. We are working through the difficulties as they arise, and thank everyone for their patience and good humor!

One thing that keeps causing confusion is the term WebCT. Our new students only know our learning management system as CE6. They are extremely confused by the term WebCT. If you use that term, please post a message at the top of your course, letting students know that CE6 is what you refer to as WebCT.

As always, if we can be of help, let us know!

Grades

2008-08-21T22:31:00.003-04:00

It's a good idea to download your CE6 gradebook whenever you enter a set of grades, or when a quiz or assessment is completed by your students. It's easy to do. CE6 will download your grades into a file that can be opened up in Excel.

From the Teach Tab:
Click Grade Book

From the View All View tab, do the following:

Export to Spreadsheet. The Export to Spreadsheet screen appears.
Select All columns.
Under Select Export Format, do one of the following:
To create a text file where field information for each member is separated by a comma, select Comma-delimited.
Under Select Character Set, select the character set that works best with your spreadsheet application for your language (the first one is fine.)
Click Export.
Download the file.

Thank you!

2008-08-19T16:10:00.005-04:00

Thanks to all the faculty who have really gone the distance this summer. Our conversion is going smoothly, and courses are being loaded into fall sections. Your dedication and hard work is very much appreciated in eLearning!

Thanks, too, to Susan DeNicola, Erich Hochmeister, Ellie Bunting, Bobbie Buczyna Jackie Smith, Rona Axelrod, and Scott VanSelow for the support they've given to faculty. We couldn't have made it without this hard working team!! Best wishes to Scott as he joins the faculty ranks in Computer Science.

Mary

Online Help for CE6

2008-08-19T16:09:00.002-04:00

Here is a great site I found - quick and easy explanations of the tools in CE6.
http://webctguide.com/index.htm

Discussions and Blogs and Journals, Oh My!

2008-07-24T18:06:00.003-04:00

We turned on the feature in the Discussions tool today that allows you to create a discussion thread, a blog, a journal, or a peer review topic.

When you create a new discussion thread, you will now see a screen that allows you to choose between a threaded topic, a blog or a journal.

If you know that you are only going to use the discussions, you can turn the other options off. To do so in the Build tab:

Click on Manage course (the Red Toolbox)
Click on Settings
Click on Discussions
Set Enable Blog and Journal Type topic creation to False
Set Enable Peer Review option to False
Click Save Values

(Thanks to Jack Cane for this great tool!)

Feeling the Crunch?: August 1st CE6 Deadline

2008-07-22T14:19:00.002-04:00

If you are finishing CE6 Certification Online Classes or need answers to put the finishing touches on your Fall 2008 course, we have two help sessions now available for registration:

Completing CE6 Online Classes: Confused about completing the CE6 Online Classes? During this two hour session we'll detail the requirements for each module of the Online Classes	Thursday, July 24th, 4:00 - 6:00pm - K 128 Friday, July 25th, 1:00 - 3:00pm - K 128 Monday, July 28th, 2:00pm - 4:00pm - K127
CE6 Question and Answer: If you are finishing the design/creation of your Fall 2008 Class and have questions, this session is for you! We'll be available to answer questions about your course on a first come, first serve basis. Come anytime during the allotted two hours.	Thursday, July 24th, 1:30 - 3:30pm - T 108 Friday, July 25th, 10:00am - 12:00pm - T 108 Tuesday, July 29th, 4:00 - 6;00pm - T 108 Wednesday, July 30th, 10:00am - 12:00pm - T 108

Please see the "Workshop Schedule" link at http://training.edison.edu/webct to register. Note that in the workshops schedule, only those that begin with "Edison Online" are our workshops. Many other departments use this schedule!

Readi Assessment

2008-07-19T11:15:00.003-04:00

There is a great, FREE tool that you can use to see if a student is ready to be an online student. If you direct the student to http://online.edison.edu/future/orientation/, they can take the READI assessment. The default login is edison, and the password is online. Once they are in, they will recieve their own unique password. There are several components: Learning Styles, Reading Comprehension, Technical Competency, Technical Knowledge, and Typing Speed and Accuracy. Students receive a report on their scores. We can also make the scores available to faculty.

Changing links in CE6

2008-07-19T10:27:00.010-04:00

There is a question that keeps coming up in emails to the eLearnng department, and that is: How do I change the syllabus link? The answer is in two parts:

To change the syllabus from the Link on the left side of the course:

Click on the Build Tab

Click on the Syllabus link on the left

Select the radio button Use File (Figure 1)

Click Select to make the change

You will then see a button that says Browse (Figure 2)

Click on the Browse button and select your syllabus document. If you've already uploaded it, it will be in Class Files. If you need to upload it, click on Computer and upload it from your computer. It will be placed in Class Files. (Figure 3)

To Change the Syllabus Link on the Begin Here page:
You cannot change the default Syllabus link that is on the page. You have to link your syllabus yourself and then remove the default link that is there.

To link:

Click on Begin Here

Click on Add File

Find or upload your syllabus (same as above)

A link will be automatically created

To change the icon, select Customize Link from the Action link menu

To remove the default Syllabus link: (Figure 4)

Click on the action link

Select Remove Link

Having Trouble Opening .docx files?

2008-06-23T22:35:00.002-04:00

If you are using Office 2003 or earlier, you may have trouble opening documents created in Office 2007. Good news! There is a small program you can download and run from Microsoft. Once installed, you can open Office 2007 files in Office 2003 or earlier.

To get it go here.

SoftChalk Short Courses

2008-06-23T15:04:00.001-04:00

The free trial period for SoftChalk Lesson Builder 4 short courses has come and passed. However, there is great news: we are a Gold Support Level customer! What does that mean for Edison College faculty? It means we get short courses for free with our site license.

Here is how to register for Short Courses as a Gold Level Member Institution:

You MUST be online
Open your SoftChalk V4 software
Select Help/Help Topics from the SoftChalk menu.
Select Training Registration(online) from the Help Topics menu.

You will see the training schedule and registration links to register for all courses pop up in a new window! Enjoy.

Ellie Bunting on the News!!

2008-06-11T17:33:00.003-04:00

Catch the ABC-2 11:00 news tonight! Ellie Bunting will be discussing Edison Online and distance learning.

Website Up and Running!

2008-06-11T09:43:00.001-04:00

The Edison Online website is up and running. The address is:
http://online.edison.edu

There is a Course Description page. We have one for every online class and faculty member. Email us your specific course comments, and we will post them for you. For example, if you have a procotored test, or if you have a course epack that needs a special code, let us know. We will post it.

Send us a photo, and we will post that as well!

CE6 Edison Online Master Template Format

2008-06-10T09:18:00.006-04:00

Whether you are teaching a face-to-face, blended, or Online Course, we have instructions and imports available for you to format your course to Edison Online Master Format. The benefits of which are many, including a consistent look, easy to use organization for the students, and the ability to teach the course online at a later date if applicable. The use of the Master Format is mandatory for all Online sections!

What is the Edison Online Master Format? Each of you have an example in your CE6 training/development accounts. When you have logged into CE6 using your training/development user name and password, there is one section in your course list that starts with "Edison Online Master Template....."

The Course Content page (Homepage) of each Edison Online Course should have the same Course menu tools, folders, icons, and icon order as pictured in this image (click this link to see the Edison Online Master Template)

Folders and order should be:

Begin Here!!
Learning Modules
Course Resources

Additional Files, Folders, or Content Links can be added to the Course Content page, but may not precede, or disrupt this order and organization.

Please contact us at online@edison.edu if you wish to receive the instructions on how to format your courses to Edison Online Master Format

7 Weeks Away

2008-06-10T08:42:00.005-04:00

Wow! Summer time passes very quickly! This is a reminder for all of those wishing to be eligible to use CE6 in the Fall (completing Online Training), hoping to develop an online course, and/or looking to transfer materials from WebCT 4.0 to CE6: There are only 7 work weeks left until the August 1st cutoff and completion date. Contact us at online@edison.edu if you have any questions about the August 1st date.

It has been asked if courses have to be completely done on August 1st. The answer to that question is yes! In order to ensure that the transition is smooth, and CE6 is properly tested, we need time after the 1st of August. There are no guarantees on exactly when you will have access to your live course sections so that you can make last minute additions or adjustments, so please prepare now!

Thanks and enjoy the summer.

June Edison Online Workshop Schedule

2008-06-04T11:39:00.002-04:00

Here are the June Workshop offerings and corresponding Schedule for the week of June 16th:

Creating Content with Lesson Builder
Participants learn to create beautiful, well organized and interactive HTML pages for your learning modules.

Creating CE6 Learning Modules
Participants learn how to organize learning materials into logical units that are easy for students to understand and complete!

Respondus for Quizzes and Test
Participants will learn how to take a formatted Quiz or Test in Word format and easily publish it as a CE6 Quiz, Test, or Self-Test.

Schedule of Workshops: You may register for a session by clicking the "Workshop Schedule" link at http://training.edison.edu/webct and looking for all "Edison Online" listings

Campus and Room Location

Workshop and Time (workshop schedule is the same for all campuses)

Collier Campus, Tuesday, June 17 th
Room: J 121

Lee Campus, Wednesday, June 18 th
Room: K 127

Charlotte Campus, Friday, June 20 th
Room: CL 206

Creating Content with Lesson Builder –
12:30 – 1:30pm

Creating CE6 Learning Modules –
2:00 – 3:00pm

Respondus for Quizzes and Tests –
3:30 – 4:30pm

REQUESTS FOR EVENING HOUR SESSIONS may be made for those wish to attend but cannot make the times posted above. Please contact online@edison.edu with your request!

Disable Printing (and right clicking) for CE6 Assessments

2008-06-04T09:16:00.006-04:00

The following are the instructions to disable printing and all right click (copy, paste) functions from a Quiz/Test in CE6. This will NOT disable their ability to print, copy, or paste the results they obtain after completing the Test/Quiz:

1. Click the ActionLink for any assessment listed in the Assessment Tool on the Build Tab

2. Click "Edit Properties" from the ActionLink menu

3. Scroll to the bottom of the Edit Properties page and click "Custom Instructions"

4. Paste the entire script from the "No Print Script Link" below to the Custom Instructions text box

No Print Script Link (click here)

(Click the link and when prompted, simply "Open") Make sure that you have copied and pasted the whole script, and nothing but that script to the text box

5. Click the check the "Use HTML" check box located immediately below the Custom Instructions text box

6. Click the Save button

If you want to post some custom instructions other than just placing the script, click the Enable HTML Creator" button after pasting the script into the text box

Additional SoftChalk Training

2008-06-02T13:15:00.002-04:00

SoftChalk is offering another series of training and demo classes. Both are taken online, and are free. The training courses are live online and are interactive. The demos are live, but are not an interactive training class.

The courses and descriptions can be found by clicking the links below.

Online Training Classes

Webinar Demos

CE6 Software Download Site

2008-05-30T08:59:00.003-04:00

Edison Online has four software programs that are extremely helpful to those instructors looking to develop materials for CE6!

Lesson Builder 4
Respondus
StudyMate
Impatica for PowerPoint

Click the links above to read more about these software pieces. In addition, we have site licenses for each that allow you to not only download and use these tools on your office PC, but also on your home PC as well. As stated in the recent "Free Lesson Builder Webinars" posting, e-mail us at online@edison.edu for the Download Site user name and password.

Free Lesson Builder Webinars

2008-05-28T07:10:00.003-04:00

Softchalk is offering a series of free webinars on its newest release of Lesson Builder. Topics are:

Introducing SoftChalk V4
SoftChalk V4 New Features
Working with the Jittery Online Student
Building Lesson Plans - Combining a Digital Library and SoftChalk

Space is limited, so visit the link below and register early! Dates and times are listed next to each topic. If you haven't used it yet, you can download Lesson Builder for free from the CE6 training website. Email us at online@edison.edu for the login and password.

SoftChalk LessonBuilder Webinars

CE6 Question and Answer Sessions

2008-05-16T11:42:00.002-04:00

Question and Answer Sessions (all topics and questions welcome):
Lee Campus: Thursday, May 22nd, 3:00 - 6:00pm, T 108
Lee Campus: Tuesday, May 27th, 3:00 - 6:00pm, T 108
Charlotte Campus: Wednesday, May 28th, 3:00 - 6:00pm, CL 209
Collier Campus: Thursday, May 29th, 3:00 - 6:00pm, J 121

You may register for the session by navigating to http://training.edison.edu/webct and clicking the "Workshop Schedule" link. Look for the workshop listing "Edison Online: CE6 Question and Answer"

Look forward to seeing you there!

Online Class Completion Notification

2008-05-14T14:17:00.005-04:00

Have you completed Online Class 1 or Online Class 2?

Did you notify eLearning that you were finished by posting a message to the discussion board on the corresponding Class?

If you have, listed below is how you will receive notification that you have successfully completed Online Class 1 or Online Class 2!

Login to CE6 and click Online Class 1 or Online Class 2 from your course list
Click the "My Grades" Tool in the Course Menu
If the word "Complete" is listed to the right of the "Certification Complete" item, you have successfully completed that Online Class
Repeat with any of the other Online Classes that you have finished, as there will be a "My Grades" listing in each.

If you have not fulfilled the requirements for completing the Online Class, an e-mail will be sent to your Edison College e-mail address with what you need to complete the course

CE6 Conversion Status and Updates

2008-05-12T19:09:00.003-04:00

I'm happy to announce that Rona Axelrod will be working with eLearning this summer. Rona will be helping out in the three training classes. She'll be answering your questions and will be monitoring and answering questions via the discussion boards. If you have any problems with the training classes, post them to the discussion board, and Rona will follow up with you.

We are working on the WebCT 4.0 to CE6 Conversions. There are a few problems, but we hope to have them worked out this week. Here are your choices for working on courses for fall:

1. Request an empty master template and build your course yourself

You will upload your own course materials
You can export quizzes and content modules from WebCT 4.0 and upload into CE6

2. Load a previous course from WebCT 4.0 into CE6

Your course will be exported into CE6
You will have to rearrange and reorganize the material, as it doesn’t totally transfer in sync with the existing course layout

3. Load from an epack from the publisher. We will need the epack information from you.

4. Load from a Master Course (you are teaching from a master template.) This will be done for you as soon as the master course is completed.

Please use the Request form at

You can request a CE6 Course Development Shell by using the online form that is in the center of the page at http://online.edison.edu/ce6_development_request/

(It's in the center of the page.)

Let us know which option you want for your classes (empty template, load from existing WebCT course, load an epack.)
Make sure you give us the CRN if it is an existing class, and let us know the term it is from.
Fill the form out for each class that you are developing
Please note: If you are using CE6 for Web-Enhanced or Blended courses, it is very critical that you fill out the request form. We have no way of knowing that you need a development shell unless you let us know.
If you teach multiple sections of the same course, you only need 1 development shell. That shell can be loaded into all sections of your fall classes.
g. If you are working from a master class that has been developed by someone else, we will load that master into a development shell for you as soon as the master is converted.

Don’t go into your fall courses until we let you know that it is ok to do so We will send out instructions later in the summer, so as not to overload everyone with information right now.

The process to load fall courses will begin the first week of August.

The Spring, 2009 Term will be complete the conversion process. This first term seems very confusing, but it will be the only time that we will have to have such a level of coordination between Edison Online and the faculty. Beginning with spring, 2009, faculty will simply copy from existing fall courses into the spring courses. The process becomes very smooth from that point forward.

Please plan to have your courses finished by August 1. At that point, we would like to begin the process of moving the classes to the fall sections.

As always, thank you for your great enthusiasm & cooportation, and please let us know if there is anything we can do to help!

Poll Question

2008-05-08T19:07:00.002-04:00

We have a poll question on the blog. If you have a minute - vote! We'd like to see how everyone is doing.

Video Content for Your Classes

2008-05-08T19:02:00.002-04:00

If you are looking for interesting videos to include as discussion points in your classes, take a look at TED http://www.ted.com

What is TED? (From their About Page)
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.
The annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

This site makes the best talks and performances from TED available to the public, for free. More than 200 talks from our archive are now available, with more added each week. These videos are released under a Creative Commons license, so they can be freely shared and reposted.

Letter Grade Entry in Practice for Class 1-Module 4

2008-05-07T09:16:00.003-04:00

Hi Everyone: In Module 4 of Class 1-Setting up a Grade book. The Practice Activity is called Edit Columns and the instructions to change the default letter grades for grading are not very clear. Here is, hopefully, a better explanation of the process: This assumes you have created a lettergrade column named Final Grade and have clicked the Edit Letter Grade Scheme from the Action menu of the column. You see grades of A+, A, B, C, D, E, and F. You also see you cannot delete the A+ row or the F row. The first thing you do is delete the E grade row and the A grade row so you have five grade boxes and range boxes left (the text next to the range boxes will automatically change when you change the range). Click inside the A+ text box and delete the + sign, then move to the range and change it to 92, then move to the B range and change it to 84, then change the C range to 76, and the F range to 68. Now click the SAVE button. That will take you back to the Column screen. Go to the Final Grade column and again click the Edit Letter Grade Scheme from the Action menu to go back to verify grades are changed. All the grades should be changed--but you may have to delete the + sign again and click SAVE again. After that, all grades should be correct for the practice lesson!!! Bobbie

Pedagogy Training

2008-05-06T09:47:00.001-04:00

There will be a pedagogy training session on Wednesday, May 7, from 11 am to 12 pm. It will be held in T-106, on the Lee Campus.

Pedagogy Class

2008-05-05T21:02:00.001-04:00

There have been a few requests for a pedagogy class on Wednesday, May 7. If there is enough interest, we can offer a pedagogy class from 11-noon, in T Building. Please email online@edison.edu, if you are interested. We will post a notice here, if the class is going to be offered.

Room Change for 5-7-08 Workshops on Lee Campus

2008-05-05T15:10:00.002-04:00

If you have signed up for workshops on Lee Campus Wednesday, May 7th, there has been a room change to accommodate more participants (this is a good thing!)

CE6 Learning Modules - 9:00am, room K 127
CE6 Assignments and Assessments - 1:30pm, room K 127

Question and Answer from 10am to 12pm will still be held in room T 108, in the eLearning Center

Canceled Lesson Builder Workshops

2008-04-29T20:03:00.004-04:00

The Lesson Builder workshops scheduled for 11:30am on April 30th, May 1st, May 7th, and May 8th (on various campuses) have been canceled. As a result, I am extending the Question and Answer sessions to 2 hours, from 10am to 12pm on the previously listed dates. Please check the Workshop schedule for rooms and times by navigating to http://training.edison.edu/webct and clicking the "Workshop Schedule" link under the heading "Faculty"

A major reason for the cancellation is that a new version of Lesson Builder is on the way in the next week, making the use of this HTML creating software even easier! If you are interested in the basics of how Lesson Builder by Soft Chalk can help you build more exciting, educational, and interactive electronic content, please come by the Question and Answer sessions mentioned above for more information!

WebCT Development Server Testing Reschedule

2008-04-24T14:44:00.000-04:00

The WebCT 4.0 (our current system) development server may be going online and offline over the next few days, as IT works to implement the patch for our conversion.

Thank you for your patience as we move towards our new system!

Free Webinar on ELearning

2008-04-24T11:45:00.004-04:00

Click to here access webinar

Summer Testing Center Schedule

2008-04-22T10:52:00.004-04:00

If you are going to use the testing center this summer, please download and read the three testing center documents (sent via email as an Edison College Announcement.) Additionally, please email your testing dates to Mary Myers (mmyers@edison.edu) by May 2. If you do not send your testing dates, proctors may not be available to your classes. It is important that we receive these dates to properly schedule proctors.
Please note: the Distance Learning Testing room on the Collier Campus will be moved from its present location of G-112 to J-217 for the summer terms and for part of Fall 2008 term. This is due to the renovation of the library on our campus. J-217 will be a temporary location until construction of the library is finished. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Chris Soto at Ext. 3710.

WebCT Development Server Testing Reschedule

2008-04-21T14:12:00.002-04:00

The current WebCT 4.0 development server will be unavailable on Wednesday, April 23 at 6 pm. This will not affect classes. This is for the development server only. IT will be testing the backup procedure for CE6. The server should be back online by 9 pm.

We will post a notice here when the server is back online. Thank you.

Certification Checklists

2008-04-16T11:18:00.001-04:00

The CE6 Certification Checklists for Online Classes 1, 2, and 3 are now posted (one checklist for each class). Click the "Important! CE6 Certifcation Information" link at the top of each class to view and print.

Please contact us with any questions about the certification process!

Training Notes

2008-04-12T10:51:00.004-04:00

We've made some changes to the Training website, to make things easier to access. All of the main links you need are now on the page: htttp://www.edison.edu/training/webct.

We are also developing checklists for the three training classes, so that the tasks are clearly defined. The first one is complete and is listed on the hompage of the first training course. Look for the CE6 icon. You can download and print the checklist for your use. Classes 2 and 3 will have checklists within the next week.

To become certified to teach online or blended classes, you need to complete training classes 1 and 2, although it is strongly suggested that you complete class 3 as well. To become certified to use WebCT as a course enhancement, you need to complete class 1. When you finish the classes, please post to the discussion board in that class, marked Class Complete.

As always, please contact us with any questions or concerns.

Development Server Testing

2008-04-10T15:03:00.001-04:00

The WebCT 4.0 Development Server testing has been postponed until early next week. Thank you!

Training and Workshop Opportunities

2008-04-10T11:41:00.003-04:00

Hello CE6 Faculty,

We now have a schedule of Question and Answer and Face-to-Face Workshops posted to the Edison College Workshop Registration List. Please go to http://training.edison.edu, click "Training Materials for Faculty" under WebCT CE6, and scroll down to "Workshop Schedule" on the following page for more details and to sign up for these sessions. If you are an adjunct, and cannot attend during these times, but need help with CE6, please e-mail online@edison.edu.

Question and Answer Workshops:
Lee Campus: Wednesday, April 16th, 2008, 1:30 - 3:30pm, T 108
Charlotte Campus: Thursday, April 17th, 2008, 1:30 - 3:30pm, CL 206
Collier Campus: Friday, April 18th, 2008, 1:30 - 3:30pm, J 121

Face-to-Face Workshops for CE6:
Lee Campus: April 30th and May 7th
Charlotte Campus: May 1st
Collier Campus: May 8th

Schedule for days above (same schedule for all four listings):
9:00 - 9:45 am - Creating CE6 Learning Learning Modules
10:00 - 11:00am - CE6 Question and Answer
11:30am - 12:30pm - Creating Content with Lesson Builder
1:30 - 3:30pm - CE6 Assignments and Assessments

Bedford, Freeman and Worth Publishers Book Fair

2008-04-09T08:47:00.001-04:00

Bedford, Freeman, and Worth Publishers will be conducting a Book Fair/Media Presentation on Thursday April 10^th in Building K Room 207 from 12:30 - 3:30. Please feel free to come by and see what BFW has to offer for your courses. There will be demonstrations of many of the online course resources.

What: Bedford, Freeman, and Worth Publishers Book Fair/Media Presentation

When: Thursday April 10^th 12:30 - 3:30

Where: Building K Room 207

Refreshments will be served.

Development Server Testing

2008-04-07T18:38:00.003-04:00

The current WebCT 4.0 development server will be unavailable on Thursday, April 10, at 2 pm. This will not affect classes. This is for the development server only. IT will be testing the backup procedure for CE6.

We will post a notice here when the server is back online. Thank you.

Team Teaching and Designing

2008-03-31T11:15:00.001-04:00

A question has been asked about how team teaching and team designing will be done in CE6

If you wish to team design a course, that can be done. e-mail ehochmeister@edison.edu with the title of the course, course number, and CRN number. When the shell or section is ready to be used, you will get a return e-mail. File creation to the content manager will need to be in the "Class Files" section. Remember, Class Files can be copied easily to the "My Files" global area in the Content Manager.

As for team teaching: Integration of course and instructor information from Banner to CE6 is something that we will not be able to answer until later in the summer. Please check back with us then. That being said, CE6 has better solutions than WebCT 4.0 for adding team instructors and teaching assistants. There will be no need to give your account access to any other instructors.

CE6 Help Mail

2008-03-31T10:09:00.002-04:00

There has been an update to the Pop-up announcement for the Edison Online Training Certification Classes. When you create an e-mail to ask for help within the Online Class, please click the "Browse for Recipients..." button and select the "To:" check box for "All Section Instructors" and "All Section Designers". Click the Save button at the bottom of that screen and then finish composing your e-mail.

TCC Worldwide Online Conference

2008-03-30T09:41:00.001-04:00

13th Annual
TCC Worldwide Online Conference
April 15-17, 2008
Pre-Conference Dates: April 2-3, 2008

Edison Faculty Registration:

1. Please go to https://skellig.kcc.hawaii.edu/tcc2008/registration/guest_reg.php

2. Enter your information

3. The Guest Type is: Group

New e-mail Subscription Tool!

2008-02-29T13:23:00.003-05:00

Apparently our first attempt at e-mail subscriptions is not working for everyone! Our apologies! Let us give another service called "FeedBurner" a chance.

Subscribing is much like before:

1. Enter your e-mail address in the text box located at the top right hand side of the blog
2. Click the "Subscribe" button
3. A new window pops-up (yes, pop-ups need to be enabled!) Type the displayed message in the text box at the lower left side of the "Email Subscription Request" window.
4. Click the "Complete Subscription Request" button
5. An e-mail confirmation message will be sent to your address, click the hyperlink in that e-mail to activate the service!

If you are having trouble with this service, e-mail me at ehochmeister@edison.edu

Free Online Seminar

2008-02-27T15:48:00.003-05:00

Edison College subscribes to the TLT Group (Teaching, Learning and Technology). They offer Free Friday Live seminars on various teaching topics. They are also offering a great opportunity to attend an "eWorkshop" entitled Asking the Right Questions: How Can Instructors Collect Evidence to Improve Teaching and Learning With Technology in Their Courses?

As a college-wide subscriber, any faculty member can register for this seminar. Click on image to get to the registration website.

Click on the blue Online Registration Button for Asking the Right Questions
Select Register Online as an New User (You only have to do this one time - you will receive a login and password that can be used for all future seminars.)
Click Continue
Check Online Institute Workshops.
Click Continue
Check My Institution is Currently a TLT Group Institutional Subscriber.
Click Continue
Check the box next to Asking the Right Questions, and then Fill out the Registration Information. Select Yes for TLT Group Subscriber
Click Continue
Answer the questions that follow, if appropriate & continue
You will receive email confirmation

Training Website

2008-02-27T11:23:00.004-05:00

Click on the image to access the training website.

WebCT CE6 Kickoff

2008-02-27T11:10:00.002-05:00

The kickoff sessions for transitioning to WebCT CE6 will be held on the following days/times:

Charlotte Campus: Wednesday, March 26, 2008, 3 pm (Room: CL-108)
Lee Campus: Friday, March 28, 2008, 3 pm (Room: K-143)
Collier Campus: Friday, April 4, 2008 1 pm (Room: J-122)
Lee Campus: Saturday, April 5, 2008 10 am (Room: K-143)

The information session will last approximately 1 1/2 hours. Topics will include: the new online training course for CE6, future face-to-face training opportunities, new additions in CE6, converting existing courses, and the overall time frame for implementation.

Anyone who uses WebCT will need to take the online training and be certified to use CE6. CE6 will be used beginning with the fall, 2008 semester. Courses need to be converted by August 1. Faculty need to plan to begin training in April so that they have the summer to convert their classes to the new format.

Any adjunct or full time faculty member who is interested in using CE6 for the first time is welcome to attend the kickoff and to take the online training.

Please click the link below, to register for one of the sessions. We are looking forward to seeing everyone and to help with this exciting transition!

WebCT Kickoff

E-mail updates!

2008-02-21T14:28:00.004-05:00

You can get instant notifications of updates to the Edison Online WebCT CE6 Blog! Enter your e-mail address in the "Your e-mail address:" textbox on the right side of the Blog, then click the "Get email updates" button! This will take you to the FeedBlitz subscription site. Fully complete the two steps on the next page and click "Subscribe Me!". It is just that easy! You will be notified everytime there is new information about WebCT CE6. (It won't e-mail you five times an hour, I promise!)

WebCT Campus Edition 6.0

2008-02-20T18:54:00.004-05:00

Edison College will be transitioning from WebCT 4.0 to Campus Edition 6.0 (CE6). Watch this blog for training information and tips on converting your course.